Dear all,

I have just finished a two week bird safari, and there were some 
interesting records in that period. Palaearctic raptors were in small 
numbers, but a good variety of falcons were evident. Palaearctic 
passerines appear to be very low at present, with the exception of 
Yellow Wagtails. Eurasian Rock Thrush are very few and far between. 

The first interesting species for the tour, were two male Purple 
Indigobirds (21st) near Mtito Andei, just over the railway track on 
the Tsavo East National Park road into Tsavo Safari Camp, where there 
is a small pool on the right, before reaching the entrance gate. This 
was attracting many birds including a number of  Jameson's 
Firefinches. Migrants were evident in Ngulia, but the bright moon was 
obviously having an effect on the numbers attracted by the lights of 
the Lodge. There was an Ortolan on the road near the lodge on 22nd, 
and another thirty kilometres away towards Mtito Gate on 23rd. Below 
the escarpment Pale Prinias were not far from the airstrip, they seem 
to be resident in small numbers along the road towards Tsavo Gate. 

On the 23rd on the Pipeline Road from Emali to Amboseli there were 
White-headed Mousebirds and Southern Grosbeak Canarys in the roadside 
acacia scrub, but the real surprise came only 100 metres from the 
Eremito Gate (Amboseli NP) when we found no less than twenty Eurasian 
Thick-knees (Stone-culews), and I have enclosed a photo of one of 
these individuals, which were all virtually identical. Mel Ogola who 
was with me the entire safari, said that a similar number had been 
coming to exactly the same spot for the past ten years!!!!! 
The only real bird of interest in the Park were two eclipse Green-
winged Teal, and I have enclosed a photo of those as well. 

On 26th an attractive Long-legged Buzzard passed over Blue Posts 
Hotel, Thika, and the large marsh is again present on the road 
towards Thika Sewage Ponds, and harbouring Lesser Moorhen and African 
Water Rails. I recorded what I think is a Striped Crake, but the bird 
would not come out of the swamp. The area is worth further 
investigation. The ponds themselves held about 500 Garganey and ten 
Pintail but nothing too outrageous. There were three vepres Black-
lored Babblers (if that is what they really are) feeding with Rufous 
Chatterers opposite the Brookside Plant at Kiganjo on the 27th. 

Crossing the road from Naro Moru alongside Solio Ranch, there were 
ten or so Amur Falcons, and a lorti Lilac-Breasted Roller on 28th. On 
the 29th we were on the foreshore, now so very far from Baringo Club, 
it was attracting a good number of waders, amongst which was a 
Senegal Thick-knee (photo enclosed, and giving us all four Burhinus  
for the tour). An immature Barbary Falcon was putting on a great 
display flying along the lake edge upsetting the waders, before 
flying off over the lodge parallel with the lake. There is another 
Car Park now, for birders visiting the cliffs, not long after turning 
right onto the main road. We had just pulled up and still in the 
vehicle when I glanced out of the window and found myself staring at 
an adult male Black-eared Wheatear not twenty feet away! Sadly after 
we watched the bird for a while it flew into the acacias and was not 
seen again, but there is a chance that it might remain in the area. 

On the way to Nakuru we found a Temminck's Stint at Mogotio, and in 
Nakuru the immature Great Spotted Eagle with ninth primary missing 
was at Home of the Cormorants, and there again next morning, also a 
few Black-headed Gulls were here as well. A strange pale legged stint 
found two days previously in the same place by the Easleys, appeared 
to be a pale legged Little Stint and not the Long-toed hoped for.
Whilst on 1st Dec., there was a late Madagascar Squacco still in full 
winter dress at Hippo Picnic Site, with a dark phase Dimorphic Egret 
now in its third year of residence. On that date we located two 
separate parties of Grey-crested Helmet-shrikes, one with 8 the other 
with 5 and both with immatures.  

Finally in the Mara, there were three Amur Falcons, the first I had 
ever seen there, and a Sooty Falcon in a plumage I have not seen 
illustrated, and I have enclosed a photo of that and also of an 
apparent immature Short-toed Snake-Eagle feeding on the ground on 
Musiara Plain, all on 2nd December, and the following day the only 
Eurasian Honey Buzzard for the tour flew down the Sabaringo Valley.

There seems to be a bit of confusion in the literature with regards 
to the immature plumages of Black-chested Snake-Eagle and Short-toed 
Snake-Eagle. Birds of Africa, Birds of East Africa and Sasol Guide to 
South Africa all describe the immature plumage of  pectoralis as 
fairly uniform cinnamon, however Zimmermann and Turner suggest that 
the immature plumages of pectoralis  and  cinereus are probably 
indistinguishable. I am looking into this further, as I have not seen 
immature  pectoralis anything but fairly uniform cinnamon, can anyone 
throw any light on this?

I was surprised to see Grey-headed Sparrow in the garage a kilometre 
up the paved road west of Narok, but even more surprised to see them 
in small numbers at Ntulele well east of Narok, in the region I 
thought of as the range of Parrot-billed. Perhaps the ranges of the 
three "grey-headed type" sparrows in that area is not so clear cut.

Best birding to all for now, and to a great December passage,

Brian